Sister’s Day

It’s that day of year again when we celebrate sisters. Anybody who has one will vouch, you can love ’em, you can get mad at ’em, you can even hate ’em, but you just cant live without ’em.

Rakhsha bandhan is the day they get to make their brothers wear pink, flourscent green, and golden bands. Colors that we wouldn’t want to be caught dead in.

If you ask me, sisters provide the spice to life. A brother is cool to have, and depending on whether you are older or his is, the relationship changes.

But with a sister it makes no difference is she is older or younger to you. She is always there when you need a leg to pull, or a shoulder to cry on. She’s always there to cheer your achievements and ensure your parents know about your follies.

She could be three years younger than you and make you feel a decade younger than her most of the time. At the same time, she could be miles smarter than you but make you feel like Einstein.

I’m one of the fortunate ones, I have a sister!

Tessy is what you’d call the ‘everyday girl next door’. She cute, but homely, lively but quiet, smart but hilariously dumb.

The one thing that will strike you first about her is her confidence. I guess my parents forgot to tell her about something called ‘failure’. Either that or she just plain doesnt care. This of course leads to the most hilarious of situations.

The answer would come out pat and she wouldn’t even look up to see if it was right or not. She just assumed it was.

Ask her where Ellema (mummy’s sister) teaches, and she’ll tell you Jumbo jet school. My aunt used to teach in Air India School.

She’ll ask for forest after dinner. Why? Because forest and desert (dessert) mean the same thing to her at that point of time.

Apart from being the joker in the house she also had the ability to make us feel extremely humble. Just as she has implicit faith in the correctness of everything she says and does, she also has an unwavering faith in God. She just KNOWS that God listens.

So when England, the only team where she knows all the players, are playing Cameron, who she doesnt like due to their rough game, in the soccer World Cup it was normal for her to support England. My uncle decides to pull her leg and bets on Cameron. Tessy’s answer?

She sits in front of the TV with her eyes closed for the entire duration of the match and prays. England wins. Pity, it doesnt work with the Indian cricket team.

Her faith in prayer was again on display during her X CBSE exams. Her report card for the Model Exam read like a telephone number, 5-6-4-7-8-8 or something to that effect. I really dont remember her studying, but I do remember her praying a lot. She got a distinction.

Today she’s completed her graduation and her post-graduation, both with flying colours. She’s got a family, a teaching job, but when she wants something done she says,”Cheta please”. I’m trapped now.

At 29 she’s still as cute, as sweet, as smart and as dumb as she always was.